J&C- gone forever?

Scott Peters · May 14, 2007

Wish John all the best...I understand businesses going down....for a variety of reasons, some out of our control. I was particularly interested in the rumors of his coating new film...

FWIW, I have found Freestyle to be fantastic in customer service, with nice inventory and dedicated to analog photography.

Chazzy · May 14, 2007

Now, how do we get FreeStyle to pick up some of J&C's product line? For example, the Efke 25 Ortho (much less expensive than Ilford), or the Rodinal and Atomal clones? I really don't see myself ordering this stuff from FotoImpex in Germany, particularly if FreeStyle can pick up the slack.

Curt · May 14, 2007

I cut my teeth on the AZO withdrawal from the market so Im over the end of JandC earlier than expected.

I got a package from Freestyle today and it came in record time due to the fast shipping. I used them in College 35 years ago and I use them now. They were good back then and great now.

Curt

rshepard · May 14, 2007

Wow! What a shock. I suspected there was something going on behind the scenes that kept John and company from selling products. It would help to provide closure if we could learn who filed frivolous lawsuits (and on what grounds) and what distributors canceled contracts.

In my business I see frivolous lawsuits filed against clients all the time. It's ugly, based on no science (only emotion), and costs everyone a lot of money for no valid reason.

While I was not a large volume customer, I appreciated the Efke 25 and J&C Classic in 120 rolls and the latter in 2x3" sheets. Don't know where the latter will now be available.

I am not alone in wishing John and his family only the best from here on out, and if there's anything we in the community can do to help, please let us know.

Rich

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · May 14, 2007

I was trying to work out how I'd order from them when they reopened, because I was likely to be in a different country by then.
J&C was the only US store I'd attempted to buy any film from, during their clearance sale, and I was very pleased with the results. I'll give Freestyle a try now that they've got better international shipping prices, but J&C was just convenient as they had everything I wanted. So this sucks.

rshepard · May 14, 2007

Eric Rose said:
check out this posting from the Large Format Forum.

Kind of says it all IMHO.

Well, I had no idea that John was ill. And I greatly appreciate Ted clarifying the situation without breaking any confidences. Reading this brief note helps tremendously. Thank you, Eric, for posting the URL.

Rich

srs5694 · May 14, 2007

Chazzy said:
Now, how do we get FreeStyle to pick up some of J&C's product line? For example, the Efke 25 Ortho (much less expensive than Ilford), or the Rodinal and Atomal clones?

Freestyle does carry Fomadon R09 (a Rodinal workalike), as well as Agfa-branded Rodinal (in 4oz and 17oz sizes). I don't recall if J&C carried the Fomadon or another variety of "R09" developer. I don't know about Atomal or its workalikes, although a search on "Atomal" didn't turn up anything. Likewise for Efke PL25 Ortho film.

Helen B · May 14, 2007

The current version of Calbe A49 that J&C sold was more like Atomal FF rather than Atomal, wasn't it? How about Perceptol or Microdol-X as substitutes? Calbe themselves suggest Microdol-X.

Best,
Helen

Moopheus · May 14, 2007

Chazzy said:
Now, how do we get FreeStyle to pick up some of J&C's product line?

Call them up and ask for it? If they saw some indication of actual demand for the products, they might do it; if they think no one wants it, they won't.

rusty71 · May 14, 2007

fwp said:
I've been buying Efke from freestyle for a while now. It's been rarely available from J&C for the last couple of years.

Are you nuts? I got several orders of Efke from JandC the whole time he was open. The only time it was unavailable was when it was sold out. He was a local Midwest business, and I could get film shipped from Topeka to St. Louis in a couple of days using regular mail. Not only is it a loss for the Analog photo world, it's a blow to the US Midwest photo community. Digital seems to have taken over here faster than other parts of the country.
Having dealt with Lawyers more than I care to, I will say for certain that half the lawsuits in the U.S. are questionable. It would not surprise me at all if someone was playing Dirty Pool to shut down JandC.
Well, good luck and godspeed to John and his family.

Curt · May 14, 2007

4662 and counting views, wow is that a record?

semeuse · May 15, 2007

sad news indeed - best of luck to John

Murray@uptowngallery · May 15, 2007

also look at Digital Truth

Yes that stinks.

Digital Truth has some of the same product lines, but I can't tell you how much overlap there is with J&C's offerings.

Murray

rusty71 · May 15, 2007

Cine Film gone too

Murray@uptowngallery said:
Yes that stinks.

Digital Truth has some of the same product lines, but I can't tell you how much overlap there is with J&C's offerings.

Murray

One of the products I'll miss the most from JandC are the Movie films. If you think analog photographic material are getting scarce, try finding 16mm and 8mm films. I liked the Fomapan 16mm and Regular 8mm emulsions JandC sold. He always had good prices on those and I could use my Bolexes. Guess I'll call up Freestyle. But most likely they'll want a large volume order before they stock it.

Silverhead · May 15, 2007

rusty71 said:
One of the products I'll miss the most from JandC are the Movie films. If you think analog photographic material are getting scarce, try finding 16mm and 8mm films.

You can find loads of many different kinds of film stock out here. Just go to Craigslist L.A. & do some searching...there are LOADS of motion picture related items that people want to get rid of, and film is (relatively) plentiful if you know where to look for it.

David A. Goldfarb · May 15, 2007

Check out filmshooting.com for sources of small-gauge movie film. There are suppliers and sources out there. I like John Schwind--

http://members.aol.com/Super8mm/JohnSchwind.html

e-mail him to let him know what you want. He has or can get things that aren't on his website. I've bought Kodak B&W film and Wittnerchrome 100D (reperfed Ektachrome 100D) in Super-8 from him, and his prices are usually quite good.

aldevo · May 15, 2007

I was deeply saddened to read that J&C is closing for good. But I wasn't completely surprised as re-organizing operations can't be easy and the supplier landscape is changing fast. And then there are the lawyers.

So I suppose it's Freestyle, B&H, and (maybe) FotoImpex for me now...

I hope John's health problems are soon behind him and that he finds time to pursue his photography.

fwp · May 15, 2007

rusty71 said:
Are you nuts? I got several orders of Efke from JandC the whole time he was open. The only time it was unavailable was when it was sold out. He was a local Midwest business, and I could get film shipped from Topeka to St. Louis in a couple of days using regular mail. Not only is it a loss for the Analog photo world, it's a blow to the US Midwest photo community. Digital seems to have taken over here faster than other parts of the country.
Having dealt with Lawyers more than I care to, I will say for certain that half the lawsuits in the U.S. are questionable. It would not surprise me at all if someone was playing Dirty Pool to shut down JandC.
Well, good luck and godspeed to John and his family.

Do I know you? If not why are you calling me nuts? Over the years I bought a lot of Efke from J&C. However for the last couple of years the supply has been spotty at best. He might have one or two boxes of 4x5 at a time most of the time none. Getting it in 120 and 35mm was even harder to get. Over a year ago I gave up on J&C and started buying my Efke-25 from Freestyle.

I'm sorry to hear that J&C is gone and I will miss it.

Brac · May 16, 2007

As far as J & C's reported plans for a coating facility are concerned, I saw on another thread that the Fotoimpex people were carrying out testing of materials they had coated on equipment they had obtained. As J & C had some kind of association with Fotoimpex I would guess that this coating project is now in their hands.

I'm sorry for people who will have problems because of J & C's withdrawal from the market. But as others have said, a suspension of operations for such a long period is bound to cause major problems with suppliers and loss of goodwill. Very sad. I share the hope that perhaps in the future John can re-enter the market in some form or other.

noseoil · May 17, 2007

One thing John was able to do, and do it well, was to show just how important a niche film actually is in the market place. If not for his work, a lot of sheet film sizes would have, quite literally, disappeared for ever. He was able to get Efke back into the main stream in the U.S. and inspire a lot of interest in things film related.

So sorry that J&C will not be back. John, many thanks for all the hard work. Chin up buddy and thanks! tim

jd callow · May 17, 2007

John is/was to B&W film what Sean has been to trad. photography. As Bob Carnie stated earlier in the post, John was the main reason we had an APUG Conference. Bob, his crew, Eric Rose and the volunteers provided the elbow grease John provided the material support. There were other sponsors, but J and C picked up the lion's share and was with us from day one. He was the first to stand up and offer money and offered more than any other sponsor.

Beyond that I really like the guy. J and C will be missed.

Thank you John!

removed account4 · May 17, 2007

jd callow said:
John is/was to B&W film what Sean has been to trad. photography. As Bob Carnie stated earlier in the post, John was the main reason we had an APUG Conference. Bob, his crew, Eric Rose and the volunteers provided the elbow grease John provided the material support. There were other sponsors, but J and C picked up the lion's share and was with us from day one. He was the first to stand up and offer money and offered more than any other sponsor.

Beyond that I really like the guy. J and C will be missed.

Thank you John!

yeah, john was the cream of the crop.
i wish him the very best, and hope he does his
best not to let the turkeys get him down.

-john

PBrooks · May 17, 2007

I will miss them greatly! I need 14x17 film and missed the Ilford order here so I've been calling around looking for some. I even put want ads on this Forum and Lg4mat forum, only one person reponded to me and to him I am very grateful. Viewcamerastore, none, BH, needs 11 box min, Freestyle needs 11 box min, and fotoimpex, I don't even know how anyone can even consider them in the same league as J&C for anything really but just my opinion. If there is some out there I would really like to know where!! So yes I will miss J&C very much.

CRhymer · May 17, 2007

PBrooks said:
I will miss them greatly! I need 14x17 film and missed the Ilford order here so I've been calling around looking for some. I even put want ads on this Forum and Lg4mat forum, only one person reponded to me and to him I am very grateful. Viewcamerastore, none, BH, needs 11 box min, Freestyle needs 11 box min, and fotoimpex, I don't even know how anyone can even consider them in the same league as J&C for anything really but just my opinion. If there is some out there I would really like to know where!! So yes I will miss J&C very much.

Hello,

I think I have a box in the freezer. Bought it last fall during John's sale, thinking I would make a 14x17 back. I have since gone to 7x17, 12x20, and 20x24. I was thinking of cutting the 14x17 down, but I have more 7x17 than I will use before it gets outdated, so if you are still looking for some, PM me. I live in the North of Canada, so shipping (I assume you are in the US) will be a bit costly.

Cheers,
Clarence

Phil · Jul 8, 2007

When did this happen?

http://www.jandcphoto.com/ >> Dead Link Removed

J&C- gone forever?

Scott Peters

Chazzy

Curt

rshepard

Alex Bishop-Thorpe

rshepard

srs5694

Helen B

Moopheus

rusty71

Curt

semeuse

Murray@uptowngallery

rusty71

Silverhead

David A. Goldfarb

Moderator

aldevo

fwp

Brac

noseoil

jd callow

Moderator

removed account4

PBrooks

CRhymer

Phil

J&C- gone forever?

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